Clock Tower 3
Clock Tower 3 is the fourth installment in the Clock Tower series. It was released exclusively for the PlayStation 2 on December 12, 2002 (Japan), March 18, 2003 (United States) and June 25, 2003 (Europe) and revolves around a girl named Alyssa Hamilton (not to be confused with Clock Tower II: The Struggle Within's protagonist, Alyssa Hale) who visits strange places and is stalked by many subordinates. The game takes place in 2003, in London, England. Plot Alyssa was a 14 year old girl living at a boarding school. One day she receives a letter from her mother, Nancy, telling her to hide until after her 15 birthday. Alyssa goes against her mother's wishes and returns to their home, which is a boarding house. Her mother is not there and the only person in the house is a shady character called The Dark Gentleman. He offers Alyssa cryptic warnings and clues as to her mother's fate. Alyssa is frightened, but is still determined to find out what happened to her mother. Eventually, her search leads her into her mother's room, where a piano begins to play wildly. Terrified, Alyssa dashes from the room and is transported back in time, to London, circa World War II. Characters Main characters Alyssa Hamilton: The game's protagonist. She has a strong will and does whatever she can to find what happened to her mother. Nancy Hamilton: Alyssa's mother. The two are very close, but Nancy appears to be hiding something from Alyssa. She goes missing at the beginning of the game. Dennis Owen: A boy that Alyssa knew in primary school three years prior to the game's events. Dennis appears unexpectedly at Alyssa's home near the start of the game. He appears to have a crush on Alyssa, and is obsessed with staying as close to her as possible. He is the one who kills Scissorman by impaling him with a pendulum. Dick Hamilton: Alyssa's grandfather, who took the task of raising Alyssa after her father died. He seems to dislike Nancy's choice of husband, and is cold hearted toward him. Three years before events of the game, Dick disappeared from the Hamilton household and has not been seen since. His disappearance depresses Alyssa, and she waits anxiously for his return. He is the main antagonist, along with his and Alyssa's ancestor, Lord Burroughs. Voiced by Other characters May Norton: May is a 12 year old child dedicated to playing the piano. She entered a piano competition, hoping to win so that her music would be broadcast over the radio, and heard by her father, a soldier at war. May was bludgeoned to death by Sledgehammer after the competition, and it was revealed that her father died in battle. William Norton: The father of May Norton, and a soldier at war. He cares a lot about his daughter, and is disappointed that he has to leave her alone at the tailor shop. Before Sledgehammer killed May, William was killed out at the battlefield, and May never knew he died because of her murder. Dorothy Rand: Dorothy is a blind old woman, who is the mother of Albert. She is very caring, and is sick of people fussing over her health, and tries to give out the feeling that she is happy without sight, but she really isn't. She would give anything to be able to see again, and wonders what her son does all day in his shed making toys. Albert Rand: Albert was also a victim of Corroder, and the son of Dorothy. He is very protective of his mother, and looks after her as much as he can. Dorothy believes he is too over protective of her. He is a man who gives and expects nothing in return by making children's toys for a living. [[Philip Hamilton|'Phillip' Hamilton]]: Alyssa's real father. Alyssa knew nothing about him as he died shortly after she was born. But later, it is revealed that her dad was murdered by her grandfather when he threw Philip over a balcony, causing his head to fall onto an axe, splitting his head. Linda Owen: Linda is a missionary nurse, currently positioned in Africa. She is also Dennis's big sister, who has raised Dennis ever since his birth. She has told Dennis she will not be back for at least six months, but mysteriously appears again during Alyssa's journey. It was actually Scissorwoman Jermima who disguised herself as Linda. The Dark Gentleman: This enigmatic character is dressed in dark clothes and has an unusually deep voice. He seems to know a lot about Alyssa, and carries a strong love for her. Alyssa does not know who he is, but assumes that he is one of her mother's lodgers. He is later revealed to be Dick Hamilton in disguise. Subordinates Clock Tower 3 features several boss enemies/antagonists known as 'Subordinates'. Sledgehammer: Sledgehammer is the first boss encountered in the game, found bludgeoning a twelve-year-old pianist to death on Christmas Eve 1942. Prior to becoming Sledgehammer, he was known as Robert Morris, a stonecutter. Corroder: Corroder is the second boss encountered in the game; he is seen blinding an elderly woman and her adult son before throwing them both alive in a drum of acid in 1963. Corroder's real name, John Haigh, as well as his modus operandi of killing his victims, is inspired by the real John Haigh , who was known in Britain as the Acid Bath Murderer. He was related to Dorothy and Albert Rand. Chopper: Chopper is the third boss and head of the Subordinates. Born in 1655 as Harold Powell, he was a woodcutter who was seriously deformed at birth and as a result, was taunted and cursed for his appearance. When Powell was seventeen, he proposed marriage to Emily Dickins, the innkeeper's daughter, but was cruelly rejected. In turn, he dismembered Emily with his axe and continued to murder other women in the same fashion for two more years until he was later caught and put on trial. [[Scissorman Ralph|'Scissorman']] & [[Scissorwoman Jemima|'Scissorwoman']]: Known as Ralph and Jemima respectively, they were sadistic, sought pleasure in torturing people to death and had a fascination with blades, scissors in particular. Their origins before being brought to Lord Burroughs's estate are unknown, though it is said in a file during the game that it is believed the twins came from the Orient, however the file also says that the theory is unlikely to be true, despite the fact that they appear be of Asian descent. Both twins, Jemima and Ralph actually share the same Entity. Lord Burroughs: British lord who had a sadistic side and enjoyed watching people die. He hired the Scissor twins to do most of his dirty work. He was a strong believer in the Entities and tried to gain power by using his daughter in the Ritual of Engagement, but she died in an accident just before her 15th birthday. Her death sent Lord Burroughs into a deep rage, resulting in him killing many. However, he was eventually overcome by his people who forced him over the clock tower of his castle, where he fell into the gears. He's not exactly a Subordinate as he came back to life by Dick, not by an Entity. He's the final boss of the game. Gameplay Gameplay consists of solving puzzles, avoiding and hiding from enemies, and eventual boss fights. Panic If at any time Alyssa feels scared or nervous, the panic meter at the top left of the screen will increase. The presence/attack of an enemy and lunar moths contribute to Alyssa's panic meter. When the meter is full, Alyssa enters panic mode. During this time, she stumbles around carelessly (you can still partially control her walking movement). She is likely to freeze in her tracks as well. The only thing you can do at that time is wait, or use lavender water to get her to move again. Alyssa also cannot use holy water while in panic. If she gets attacked while she's still in her panic mode, she will die instantly, and the game will end. To alleviate panic, the player can: * Attempt to run away. * Use lavender water to clear Alyssa's panic meter. * Use an invisibility ring to try and fool the stalker, and calm down. Hiding Spots While Alyssa is running away from an enemy she may come upon a hiding spot. A swirling sigil that appears when Alyssa is being chased designates these spots. If Alyssa can manage to reach one of these spots before an enemy can get his hands on her, then she can stay in these spots until the killer has left the area. Being in a hiding spot does not mean that Alyssa is safe. Sometimes killers can still find her, whether the enemy saw her enter the hiding spot or not or while the killer is snooping around the immediate area of the hiding spot Alyssa's Panic Meter will increase. If the Panic Meter fills up then Alyssa will blow her hiding spot and scream, alerting any enemies nearby. There are also some hiding spots which can only be used once, and are main events in the game. These one time only spots may be the only way to escape some enemies. These one-use spots are known as Evade spots. Noise - Stealth There is also a small element of stealth integrated. Interacting with some items causes big bangs or loud noise. These noises may alert your killer for the chapter, and they may come after you. Some are very obvious, like cans on the floor, while some are traps set by your killer. Spiritual Healing Whenever Alyssa comes across a ghost, it should have a body near it. These ghosts are still here because they are missing a Sentimental Item. Sentimental Items can vary, from Teddy Bears to Engagement rings and whenever you return the item to the spirit, it will be healed and leave the area, leaving behind an item or important piece of info. Weapons The only weapon Alyssa is armed with is holy water, which is of limited use and can remove blue crests on doors, stun enemies and activate holy portals. The only way to refill your Holy Water vial is to find a Lions Fountain, or a jar of it. This is the most invaluable piece of equipment Alyssa will get her hands on with the exception of the Crossbow. When pressing Triangle, Alyssa will throw a dose in an arch ahead of her. It will stun enemies reaching contact with the splash. Rooder Crossbow Once the Sentimental Item belonging to the greater Spirits whose misery is powering the level's Killer is found, Alyssa gains the power to face off against the Killer in battle, using a divine bow and arrow. Pressing triangle will make Alyssa shoot an arrow. The longer you hold the button, the more powerful an effect the arrow will have on the Killer. The thing about these boss battles, however, is that you must not continue to pound them with arrows until they fall dead, as this will take a very long time. You need to hit them with fully charged arrows, which pin them to the ground with golden chains of light. You cannot shoot three arrows while standing still however, you must shoot them so that the chains bind the enemy from three different angles. After three chains are placed, Alyssa will launch a final arrow high into the air, which will then turn into a massive Rooder attack. This does a lot of damage, and may kill the enemy. Some of these attacks may not defeat powerful enemies, and the sequence may need to be performed more than once. Green Arrows Green repellent arrows do damage and knock your enemy back, giving Alyssa some time to run back a bit and charge a golden arrow up. These are very helpful in boss battle, so use them with care. Red Arrows These arrows are equivalent to the charged up golden arrows, and have the same effect. They bind the enemy with one golden chain. Extras Unlockables After you have successfully completed Clock Tower 3 there are a number of new options that you unlock: # There is a new option on the Title Screen called Theater mode. With this option you can view every cutscene from the game and also view production art of the game. To access the art gallery, press R1 when in the cinema viewer # When you load your data from your previous game, you will start the new game with a key to the wardrobe in Alyssa's room. In the American version, the following costumes are available from the costume closet: A blue cowgirl outfit, the toga from the end of the game, a set of roman armor, a black and rather revealing club type outfit, and Alyssa's standard school uniform. Clear mode Finish the game to unlock Clear mode. This mode is a more difficult version of the game where enemies have more powerful weapons and Alyssa's panic goes to full when surprised. Reception Clock Tower 3 received mixed but generally good reviews. It was praised for its good graphics and unique soundtrack, as well as many of the game's horror elements and atmosphere. However, many reviews criticized its difficult gameplay and its unoriginal storyline and characters. Clock Tower 3 is the first Clock Tower game to not feature multiple endings, thus the game is much more linear than previous installments which, in turn, affects the game's replay value. The game's only unlockables include costumes and a theater mode/art gallery. Many people have complained that the villains are very "cartoonish" and also complained about the turn the plot of the game takes from the "horror" genre to the "fairytale, magical girl" genre. As well, the game draws more inspiration from "fantasy" elements such as time traveling, Rooders and Entities. While previous protagonists had to use their wits in order to evade stalkers, Alyssa can sprinkle holy water, turn invisible, and use Sigil Stones as "extra lives", she also uses magical crossbows and arrows during boss battles, which can be seen as "unrealistic" in a slasher-type game where the protagonist is an ordinary human who is always vulnerable to danger. Category:Games Category:Clock Tower 3